Apprentice
by TheJennyFromIceland
Summary: Batman and Batgirl come to Jump City after seeing a video of Robin stealing from Wayne Enterprises. Another take on the 'apprentice' episodes.
1. Chapter 1

"This just can't be happening!" Beast Boy yelled at the other Titans. They had just gotten home after a mysterious and hard battle with the one and only Robin. Seeing him in the Slade apprentice costume had really startled them and they didn't know what to think anymore. Robin was supposed to be the guy that hated Slade the most and suddenly he's just his apprentice. This all seemed very strange.

"That was not Robin!" Starfire said in denial and sat down on the red half-moon couch.

"It was. I too wish it wasn't true, but that was the real Robin." Raven said with a voice that didn't seem like her usual emotionless voice. It was full of concern.

"But he would never do such a thing!" Starfire said loudly and looked like she was about to cry. Suddenly someone knocked on the door. They looked at each other and then everyone looked at Beast Boy.

"Fine." He said and walked towards the door only to freak out when he opened it.

"You're...Ba-... What?..." They heard his voice say as he backed into the living room still saying some random words. And then they saw why he was freaking out. Batman and Batgirl stood outside, looking very serious. Cyborg jumped up and ran to the door.

"Excuse our friend. He's a big fan of yours, sir." He said and looked at Batgirl. "Yours also, ma'am. Please, come in." He said formally and watched the two bats walk into the living room.

"What are you doing here?" Raven asked curious and ignored the glares she got from the rest of the team when she forgot to be polite.

"Well, I saw an interesting video." Batman answered.

"And what was the video about?" Cyborg questioned and sat down next to the rest. The bats stood still.

"My son. Stealing. I'm here looking for an explanation." Batman said calmly.

"Your.. your son?"

"Yes. Robin. Now, where is he?" Batman said and crossed his arms. The team looked at each other.

"Not here." Beast Boy answered and looked away from Batmans piercing stare.

"I can see that. Which one of you becomes the leader when he's not around?" Cyborg slowly raised his hand.

"Okay, you. What is your plan?"

"My.. my plan?" Cyborg asked confused.

"Don't tell us that you guys don't have a plan to get him back." Batgirl said and stared at them.

"Well, we just found out about this. Then you guys came. We haven't made one."

"Then make one now."

"What do you want us to do?" Cyborg asked.

"What Robin would do."


	2. Chapter 2

Slade's Hideout

"Richard! Come here!" Slade yelled at the black-haired boy.

"Yes, master." The boy said and walked to the man with the mask. "What do you want me to do?"

"Okay, listen carefully. I'll only say this once. In the city's science lab is a newly designed weapon. A type of lasergun. I want you to get it for me. It's still in the testing room, not very well guarded. This is the only one that has been made, so I also want you to steal the blueprints. We want to be the only ones with this gun. Got it?" The masked man said with crossed arms.

"Yes."

"Yes, _what?"_

"Yes, master."

Titan's Tower

The lights started flashing red.

"What is it?" Raven asked Cyborg, who checked Robin's computer. As soon as he saw the information, he went pale.

"Cyborg?"

"Robin. The Science Lab." He said and looked at Batman. "The plan will have to wait. You two need to come with us. You probably know him better than anyone." Batman nodded and ran he and Batgirl ran after the Teen Titans.

The Science Lab

Robin snuck into the testing room. There, in the middle of the room, was the lasergun that he was supposed to steal for Slade. It looked like a regular gun, but a lot more powerful. But it couldn't be this easy to get to. He carefully took a spray from his belt and sprayed over the room and the red lasers became visible. He took af few steps backwards, calculated in his brain what he needed to do and jumped between the lasers. He carefully took the gun and jumped back through the lasers and ran out of the room. Great. Now the only thing left was getting the blueprints.

After he had gotten them, he went up on the roof. That was the only safe way back to the hideout.

"Richard John Grayson!" He heard an angry voice say from behind him. He froze. He recognized the voice and slowly turned around. Suddenly he was facing the Teen Titans, Batman and Batgirl.

"Dick! What are you doing? This isn't like you." Batgirl said and took a few steps forwards.

"_Tell her to shut up." _Slade's voice said in his ear.

"Shut up." Robin said harshly.

"_You're a good actor. Now take the lasergun and point it at them. Then just... improvise." _The voice said and he followed the orders.

"Put. The. Gun. Down." Batman said with closed teeth.

"What makes you think that I follow your orders?" Robin still had the gun up.

"Because I'm your father."

"You're not my father! My father is dead!" Robin screamed at him.

"But I am still the man who raised you." Batman said calmly. "And I thought that I had raised you better than this."

"_Don't let him get to you, Richard. You know better than that. I would usually let you attack them, but not when Batman is there. I want you to return back to the hideout, but be careful. Don't let them follow you. Can you do that?" _Robin had his fingers on his ear and was silent for a moment, which made it pretty obvious for the others that Slade was saying something to him.

"Yes, master." He suddenly said. He grabbed a smokebomb from his belt and threw it at the ground. The place was instantly full of smoke and when it went away, Robin was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Slade's Hideout

"Robin. Congratulations." Slade's calm voice said with a hint of joy and the man walked slowly and with elegance to his apprentice. The single eye that was lying behind the black and gold mask rested on the gun and papers in the hands of the boy. He kept his hands behind his back, just to highlight the fact that he was in charge.

"What are you congratulating me for?" Robin asked and placed the things that he had just stolen on the table in the middle of the room. Slade nodded his head once. It was his strange way of thanking someone.

"For succeeding your mission. Now step away from the table." The boy did as he said and took a few steps backward, while his mentor walked to the table. He carefully picked up the gun and examined it in his hands. After that he looked at the blueprints, to make sure that his apprentice had stolen the right papers. Robin watched him with attention and his master noticed it. He noticed everything.

Trust has to be earned, and the man still had trouble trusting the boy. After all those times when Robin had attacked him, insulted him, betrayed him (and the list could go on and on) was not exactly trustworthy. But hopefully he would be able to change him. Make him like a little version of himself. Make him... evil. It would just take time and the right method.

The boy was still staring at him, waiting for an order. Slade looked up from the table.

"There's a reward waiting for you in your room. Now, leave me alone." The man said. Even though his calm and fatherly voice had made the words, the message sounded harsh. Robin turned to the door and quickly walked out.

As soon as he opened the hidden door to his room, he saw his reward. Two slices of bread with butter and cheese, and a glass of milk standing next to it on the small, black table. The boy almost ran to the food. He hadn't eaten anything since around 6 o'clock that morning and now it was getting close to midnight. He ate the food slowly, enjoying every single bite. He knew that it would be a long time until he would receive food again.

* * *

"Thank you, master." Robin said as he returned to the main room. The table was gone along with the things that the boy had stolen. Slade was now standing where the table had been, with his hands behind his back in an elegant pose.

"You earned it. For your mission, that is." The man said without moving. Robin walked over to him and waited for him to say something.

"It was too bad that I didn't get to see a fight. We have to do something about our little 'situation'." Slade said still not moving, with his voice still calm, but he was obviously mad.

"Situation?"

The man paused after the little, innocent question and glared at his apprentice. Even though his face could not be seen, pure hatred was shining off of him. Even though he would never admit it, Robin was terrified of the man. Suddenly his mentor picked him up on the collar of his shirt and held him up.

"I know that you conntacted him. I know about how you betrayed me and thought that I wouldn't know anything about it. But you know what, bird? I'm not stupid." He hissed angrily, kicked the boy in the stomach and threw him harshly on the ground.

"No! I didn't do it! I swear!" The boy screamed between the painful kicks from his mentor. Robin grabbed Slade's foot and tried to trip him, but earned himself a black eye. He quickly stood up and tried to run away but Slade grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him backwards.

"I'm not done with you."

**Thank you for the reviews! I love reading them, so keep them coming ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

What is happening in Titan's Tower

_What they see on their TV_

* * *

Titan's Tower

"Okay, that was not Dick. At all." Batgirl said as she walked across the room, like she had been doing for 15 minutes.

"You're right. We need to get that plan into action. Cyborg." The man in black turned to the half-robot boy. "Any ideas?"

Cyborg sat down and thought for a minute, and suddenly jumped up with a smile on his face. "I do!" He ran to the computer, sat down and started writing as fast as he could. "He uses our TV to communicate with us, even though he hasn't done it in a while. But I think that I might be able to hack into his camera."

"And why do you want to hack into the camera? How can it help us?" Raven asked as she floated in the air. Cyborg turned to her.

"I... don't know. Maybe it'll give us some answers, or something?" He said and continued writing.

"But, friend Cyborg. Will Slade not be able to see us too?" Starfire asked.

"No, I'll make sure that they won't see us." He paused but then smiled. "I've got it!"

"Oh my god!" Beast Boy yelled as the image of Slade's Hideout appeared on the screen.

_"You called the bat! I know you did!" Slade yelled at Robin who was barely able to stand. He looked terrible. Tears had made his cheeks wet and shiny, and they were still flowing. There were a lot of cuts on his face and chest, his shirt had been ripped off, he had a black eye and a lot of bruises, a few broken ribs, his mask was off and his hair in a mess. Slade was holding him up by his wrists._

"_I swear! I di-didn't!" The boy yelled between the sobs but the masked man slapped him harshly._

_"Lies, Richard! Lies!" He threw the bird on the ground who landed with a cry. He then gave the boy a few painful kicks._

_"You're weak. You can't even defend yourself, what makes you think that you can defend a whole city?" He said as he stopped kicking the boy. Everything was silent for a few long seconds._

_"Please. Please, let me go home." The boy murmured. Slade kneeled next to him. Robin was lying on his stomach with his hands buried in his hands._

_"Why? We're having so much fun." Slade said and you could hear by his voice that he was grinning. Usually this would be the time were Robin would make a joke, say something sarcastic or something very clever, but he remained silent and lay completely still. After a few seconds, Slade started getting worried._

_"Richard?" He gently poked Robin's shoulder._

_"What?" Robin asked back and sat up. It was painful for him, that was obvious, but laying on the floor was just as uncomfortable. "What could you possibly want? I've stolen for you, betrayed my friends who probably look at me as a villain now and you make me steal from my own father's company! You beat me up every single time I make a mistake or when the Titans are better than I am in a battle. You make me starve and only let me sleep for a few hours a day!" He slowly stood up as he was yelling at Slade and leaned up against a wall. "And for what? A button. A stupid freaking button!"_

_"Rich-" Slade tried to say as he stood back up._

_"You don't even care a little bit! Just look at me! I'm not in any position to fight, steal or do anything! What's the point of having an apprentice if you can't even..." He broke into tears and fell on his knees while Slade stood and watched him._

Batman looked off of the TV and at the others. Everyone else was shocked, staring at the screen with their mouths open and eyes wide open.

"Robin..." Batgirl whispered.

"Why is he his apprentice? Why doesn't he quit?" Beast Boy asked.

"I think... I think he can't." Raven whispered. But they stopped talking when they saw what happened next.

_"Robin." Slade said in almost a compassionate voice and put his hand on the shoulder of the crying boy. "Robin, I... I know that I've not been... the best mentor.. and..." He tried to say but Robin just shaked his head._

_"You're not sorry, you heartless monster." He said, pushed Slade's hand off of his shoulder and stood up. "You're never sorry." _


End file.
